Recruitment company Acorn by Synergie and commercial law firm Darwin Gray LLP have relaunched the Wales HR Network, with two big events and a brand-new look planned for 2025.
The network provides learning and networking opportunities for senior leaders and HR professionals in Wales, as well as enabling the sharing of ideas to help shape the future of HR practices across the country.
As part of its relaunch, the network has announced a second ‘Future of Work’ conference, following the success of its first conference in 2023. The conference will welcome around 150 people to the ICC Wales in Newport on 14 May 2025.
The May conference has a line-up of expert speakers, including Dr David Frayne, current Research Fellow at the University of Salford and member of Digital Futures at Work Research Centre. During his time as Research Fellow at Cambridge University, Dr Frayne was the lead researcher on two national pilots of the four-day working week, and he will share major insights and practical lessons learnt from these exciting pilots at the conference.
Lisa Hand, HR Director at Welsh broadband provider Ogi, will talk about Ogi’s journey to becoming Wales’ biggest alternative telecoms company, and the steps taken to futureproof Ogi’s workforce to enable this transformation.
The lineup will also include representatives from the Institute for the Future of Work, a leading UK research and development body which, with funding from the Nuffield Foundation, recently completed the three-year Pissarides Review into the Future of Work and Wellbeing, led by Nobel Prize-winning economist, Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides.
Working in collaboration with Imperial College London and Warwick Business School, this groundbreaking inquiry explored the impacts of automation at national, firm and individual levels, and has proposed a new model of human-centred automation where innovation and social good can advance together. Insights from this seminal report – as well as the Institute’s wider work – will be shared with delegates at the conference.
The network will also hold a third Future of Work conference in North Wales in the autumn.
Managing Director at Acorn by Synergie Bernard Ward said:
“We’re delighted to be re-launching the Wales HR Network with two significant conferences in Wales, where we will have great speakers covering lots of current important topics about what’s going on in the world of HR.
“Previously, the annual awards that the network hosted were successful in highlighting the great work people are doing on the ground here in Wales, but these conferences will allow those same HR professionals and leaders of organisations to learn from experts on the Future of Work, whilst also networking with one and other.”
Fflur Jones, Managing Partner at Darwin Gray, said:
“The relaunch of the Wales HR Network has come at a key time, with changes happening in the world of employment law and HR almost on a daily basis. To coincide with the relaunch of the Wales HR network we therefore felt it was more important than ever to explore what will the future of our working practices and spaces look like.
“With a fantastic lineup of expert speakers, our May conference should not be missed by anyone involved in leadership roles or HR. We are excited about this new chapter in the life of Wales HR Network, and its key role in shaping excellent future HR practices here in Wales.”
